


Singles

by redradioflyer



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Puppy Love, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 13:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17081573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redradioflyer/pseuds/redradioflyer
Summary: Alfred and Matthew both have it bad for each other, but neither wants to make a move. They are roommates after all- if something goes wrong, it could ruin their friendship and their living arrangement.





	1. Chapter 1

Matthew had fallen for Alfred the moment he’d walked into their soon-to-be shared dorm room and made eye contact. Alfred is so open, warm, and friendly, and his smile makes Matthew weak in the knees. He shakes his hand for the first time, and he can feel the confidence oozing off of Alfred in waves.

Therefore it’s reasonable that Matthew’s first thought upon meeting him is a steady chant of, “ _Fuckfuckfuck I’m so screwed_." 

Seriously, falling for your first roommate in college? Matthew is pretty sure this is some sort of cliché playing out. 

But he can’t help it. Over time, it only gets worse. Alfred is eager to make friends with him, and they even feel like best friends after only a few months together. Practically inseparable, in fact- something Matthew cherishes even more because of hearing horror stories from others about their roommates.

Being in love with Alfred complicates things, but Matthew is unwilling to risk making their living together awkward. Besides, he never hears Alfred talking very much about romance. Sure, he makes the odd comment about celebrities being ‘fuck-able,’ but he never talks about being interested in romance or sex in real life.

So Matthew keeps it to himself.

Or at least, he’s trying, but Alfred is making it very hard.

“Just… um, I’m so sorry Mattie, but uhhhhh,” Alfred says, blushing red and dithering. He looks terrified. “I mean I’m just so scared… and uhh….”

Matthew is blushing red too, but mostly because he finds Alfred cute like this. “Yeah, it’s just a movie though Alfred. It’s made to be scary ya know?”

“I know I know, it’s just…” Alfred closes his eyes in embarrassment. “When I got scared before livin’ at home I could always invite friends over and uhhhhh have a sleepover? Or my brother would sleep in my room so like…”

“Well, we still are going to sleep in the same room so it’ll be okay.” Matthew pats his shoulder gently.

Alfred finally hazards a glance up and nods. “Yeah but what I mean to say is they…” His voice drops to a mumble. “They sleep in my bed…with me…”

The realization of what he’s proposing has Matthew's cheeks glowing red. “But the beds are singles. Too small for us both,” he manages. “We wouldn’t fit.”

“Yeah see I thought’a that!” Alfred says. He’s perking up when he realizes that the other doesn’t seem unwilling. “I thought we could just push our beds close together and lay next to each other that way. Would that be okay?”

“Oh…” Matthew can’t say no with Alfred looking so scared and earnest. “Alright move it over.”

“Thanks man, seriously, it means a lot. You’re a great friend. I just didn’t want you to think it was like invasive or something. Like, no homo ya know? Just being bros.”

Matthew grimaces- no homo for Alfred at least, but Matthew is already having some incredibly homosexual thoughts. “Yeah. Exactly.”

—

If the idea is so embarrassing, actually doing it is even more so. Alfred presses close as he can against Matthew’s side without actually wrapping an arm around him, and Matthew can’t think of anything but the line where their bodies meet. Though he can’t really see, he can hear every breath and every minor shift as Alfred tries to get comfortable. After a while, Matthew can feel him trembling in the dark.

His heart burns with love and protectiveness, and though he knows he’ll probably torment himself later with hope of returned feelings, Matthew shifts to pull Alfred into his arms. There isn’t even a moment of hesitation, and soon they’re curled close and tight together. Alfred buries his face in Matthew’s neck.  

“Thanks Matt,” Alfred says after a while. “Just… yeah thanks.”

Matthew shrugs a little and strokes his hair. “Don’t worry Al. I’m here for you. Just sleep alright?”

“Mhmm, alright,” he replies softly and he starts to doze after a while.  

Even after Alfred is long asleep, Matthew stays up and focuses on the feeling of Alfred in his arms, the feel of his breath on his neck, the way his lips move against his skin sometimes when he murmurs in his sleep.

Matthew knows this won’t be the only sleepless night that comes from this, but if it’s his only chance for so much intimacy with Alfred, he wants to memorize every moment.

—

Alfred wakes up first in the morning. Gently as possible he presses a kiss to Matthew's forehead before crawling out of his arms.

“God,” he says softly. “I’m so screwed.” 


	2. Chapter 2

“Why are your beds shoved together?”

“Oh, Alfred gets scared sometimes, is all. He forgets to put his back before class.”

“Dude, that’s kinda gay.” Gilbert pauses for a moment. “Do you guys snuggle?”

“Oh course not,” Matthew says, blushing and looking away.

“ _Oh you do_! You totally do! That makes it hella gay. Look, bro, I know you’ve got the biggest boner for this guy but if he’s like cuddling you while he sleeps, it’s probably mutual.”

Matthew shakes his head and jabs him with a pen. “Shut up. I don’t have a boner for him.”

“Well not right now at least,” Gilbert says with a grin. “But I’m sure you do pretty often. ‘Sides you’re just dodging now. I think he likes you too.”

“Nawww, don’t try getting my hopes up.”

Gilbert throws a shoe at him. “Come on, dude, have you ever slept cuddled up to someone you didn’t want to fuck at some point in the near future??”

“Well,” Matthew starts but Gilbert cuts him off.

“When you’re a kid doesn’t count either.”

Matthew sighs. “Well no but…”

Gilbert rolls his eyes and messes with Matt’s hair. “Yeah me neither. I mean sure cuddling is great but cuddling in bed usually means I’m intimate enough to want other stuff as well.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”

“Maybe,” Matthew says, sounding exasperated and perhaps a bit hopeless. “But you aren't Alfred.”

—

Alfred didn’t date much in high school. Really he had never been all that interested. Sure, he’d been to prom with a pretty little lady on his arm, and he’d went out a few times on meaningless one time dates. In the long run though, those dates had been just for fun, and they had never went anywhere.

Perhaps that’s why he’s so hesitant to put the moves on his adorkable shy roommate. It’s also why he’s looking to his brother for advice.

“Awwwww c’mon! Help me out, Artie. You’re like the gayest guy I know.”

Arthur gives him a long suffering stare and sips his tea. “Because I’m the only one who’d put up with your insensitive shit, you twat,” he says with a sniff. “And besides, I’m bisexual, I’ll have you know.”

“Yeah yeah, you told me. I’m just kidding anyways, jeez,” Alfred says, waving his hand. “Just help me out will ya?”

“You’ve got him in the ‘cuddling each other in bed’ phase without even trying. I’m not sure what sort of advice you’re looking for.”

“I need to know how to be romantic! Or, like, put the moves on him or something.”

Arthur thumps him soundly on the back of the head. “Just act natural. Every time you over think things, you do something stupid.”

Alfred pouts at him, but his brother is probably right. Act natural. Yeah!

—

When Alfred gets back, he invites Matthew for an afternoon of Lord of the Rings and snacks. A good break from studying and just have some fun for a few hours. Their beds are still pushed close together from the night before, and Alfred proposes that they stack all the pillows together to make a nest.

Matthew thinks it sounds like a wonderful idea. It’d been a long day of studying for Matthew- Gilbert is fluent in German but not the best tutor. He gets distracted too easily, and sometimes he tries to teach Matthew dirty words without telling him the proper meaning of them. An afternoon of chilling out with Alfred sounds like a perfect break from that.

“I’ll pop some popcorn, and you get the pillow nest ready?”

Alfred grins and does so. “Can I hang my extra sheets up and make a fort over here too?”

“Uhhhh I guess so,” Matthew says. “I can help if you want?” 

“Naw man, I got this.”

Fifteen minutes later, they’re settled into a mass of pillows with Spider-man sheets hung up around them with the TV just barely inside the ‘tent’ they’ve created.

“It’s like we have our own little planet, Mattie,” Alfred tells him as he wraps his arms around Matthew’s shoulders and draws him close.

“Y-yeah… our own little planet.”

Matthew blushes but settles into his hold. It isn’t unusual for Alfred to be overly affectionate, and he decides to just bask in it without examining it too closely. They have a popcorn fight at one point- purely Alfred’s fault of course. As far as Matthew is concerned, tickling someone was not an invitation to shove popcorn down the back of their shirt.

But still, they’ll have to clean their beds of popcorn before they sleep now.

When they finally settle down Alfred doesn’t immediately pull Matthew back into his arms. Disappointment is heavy in his chest- Matthew had been the one who ruined the moment with the tickling after all.

Then suddenly, Alfred finds Matthew’s hand, and he slides his fingers through Matthew’s. Alfred holds his hand tight and acts as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to hold hands with someone out of the blue. Admittedly, it’s incredibly intimate and romantic. On the other hand, well, it’s Alfred, and he always seems to be a step behind in understanding social nuance. It might not mean anything at all. 

In the end, Alfred is acting as though it’s so normal, and so Matthew acts that way as well. His hand is so strong and warm, and Alfred lets Matthew lean against his shoulder. Well, why should he complain about that?

—

‘Act Natural’ to Alfred basically meant ‘do what you want so long as the other person seems into it too.’ As calm as he is acting, Matthew holding his hand is making his heart race with excitement. He decides to push his luck.

“Hey why don’t we leave our beds together and sleep on the pillow mountain tonight??”

After a long quiet moment, Matthew squeezes his hand and nods. “I’d like that.”

As they have done several times now, they sleep curled close in each other’s arms.

Alfred wakes up first in the morning again with popcorn in his hair and Matthew’s face buried against his chest. Heart beating fast, he drags him closer and imagines to himself that this is what heroes must feel like when they hook up with their one true love at the end of the story.  

But making it to happy endings like that require time and patience, and Alfred has never been very good at waiting. What he really wants to do is wake him up with a kiss, but he decides that it’s that’s coming on too strong too fast.

Maybe he’ll do that tomorrow morning instead.


End file.
